After wins in Malaysia and Spain earlier in the season, it all started to go wrong for the defending World Champion last month in Monaco, where Raikkonen could only manage ninth place after crashing his Ferrari into the back of Adrian Sutil’s Force India.
Matters then took another turn for the worse nine days ago in Canada when Lewis Hamilton drove his McLaren Mercedes straight into the back of Raikkonen’s car in the pit lane, forcing both to retire on the spot.
The cumulative effect of the two accidents has turned the seven-point advantage Raikkonen enjoyed ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix into a seven-point deficit to new Championship leader Robert Kubica
The Finn is now desperate to stand on top of the podium again as he said ahead of this weekend’s French Grand Prix: “I don’t remember when I had such a great lust for winning.”
He added: “The team had prepared a car, which was able to be strong on all the tracks, but it didn’t go well during the last races.
“I don’t like looking back and thinking about what happened at the last race.”
“I don’t carry bad thoughts with me because that would just make me lose time, and you can’t change the result anyway.”
“It’s much better to concentrate on the upcoming GP and try to get the best result possible.”
Raikkonen is a big fan of the rural circuit, his victory there last year having been a turning point in his title-winning 2007 campaign. Now, armed with a Ferrari that he believes will be well suited to the demands of the Nevers track, he is hoping for a repeat performance on Sunday.
“The smooth surface of the French track, its demanding corners and the quick changes of direction will underline the characteristics of the F2008,” he said. “It was here in France last year that my season practically started all over again; and this is what I need now, after the two races with no points. I like this track and I think that it’s perfect for our car. I think we’ll be competitive and that we can go for the maximum result.”
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